The springer spaniel pointer cross pup passed her assessment and is now a fully qualified sniffer dog for the force.

Her new life keeping County Durham safe is a far cry for the Norfolk farm where she was born.

Viewers of Channel 5’s Police Interceptors will remember the pup’s first visit from the force, who decided she was the best dog for the job.

PC Ian Squire the dog handler who has been putting Lottie through her paces said he is confident she will be one of the best in the force.

He said: “She’s a great dog, everyone loves her when we are out and about because she is so unusual looking.

“She’s full of energy and she’s been a fast learner, it has taken just weeks to get her through training that takes months.”

Lottie has been trained to sniff out drugs, cash and ammunition and has been tested out in a number of real life locations including hotels and scrap yards.

Sergeant Dave Bell said the work the dogs do cannot be replicated by machines with the same accuracy.

He said: “It’s the big general purpose dogs that most people think of when they think of police dogs, people will be surprised by the look of Lottie I think.

“We get great results with the dogs, we can get a call and send them out across woodland and within minutes know if there’s something worth looking at.”

Police dog Lottie

Recent hauls found by police dogs in County Durham include £30,000 of cash, ten kilos of amphetamine, a shotgun buried in woodland and two rifles and a shotgun which were hidden behind panels on a vehicle.

Lottie will work with the force until she is around eight or nine-years-old when she will retire and be re-homed through Durham Constabulary’s police dog charity, Paws Up.

Sgt Bell added: “It is so nice to see when they go to their new home, they’re a police dog one day and then they’re just pets the next day.

“We try to always keep that friendliness in them so they can be a good pet.”